Hrubesch continues
Weak DFB women are rushing into Olympic qualification
December 5th, 2023, 9:25 p.m
A first half to forget and no goals even after the break: Despite a weak performance, the DFB women can continue to dream of the Olympics. They owe this primarily to Iceland, who won the Nations League parallel game against Denmark.
After a tough game and thanks to the support from Iceland, the German footballers have just about preserved their Olympic chances for Paris 2024 – and can continue to rely on interim national coach Horst Hrubesch. A disappointing 0-0 draw against Wales in the evening in Swansea was enough for the DFB women to win the group in the Nations League, as rivals Denmark surprisingly lost 1-0 to the Icelandic women. At the final tournament from February 21st to 28th, Hrubesch will also be on the bench again, as he confirmed after the final whistle: “So it’s planned that I’ll still be there.”
Then the weak team led by captain Alexandra Popp this time fights for the two remaining European Olympic tickets. Possible opponents are world champions Spain and France. The nervous vice-European champions were unable to build on last Friday’s strong 3-0 win against Denmark against the bottom of the table. In the fourth game under Hrubesch, the 72-year-old missed a win for the first time.
The HSV idol already underlined with the starting eleven that he was further igniting the competition: Leverkusen’s Elisa Senß, who made her DFB debut in Rostock, played from the start, as did Hoffenheim’s Paulina Krumbiegel for the otherwise seeded Giulia Gwinn and the Jule Brand has recently received little attention. Sara Doorsoun replaced the suspended Marina Hegering in central defense.
“It wasn’t our claim”
Although the German women easily won the first leg 5-1, they started very erratically in the Liberty Stadium with many ball losses. Goalkeeper Merle Frohms was lucky after a quarter of an hour when Rachel Rowe’s ball hit the post and then hit her back without landing in the net. The very weak first half was sometimes reminiscent of the performances at the botched World Cup in Australia in the summer. Sarai Linder missed with a shot just over the crossbar (41′) – there wasn’t much more in the offensive around Popp.
After the break, Hrubesch brought in two new players, Gwinn and Linda Dallmann from Munich. The DFB women increased the pressure a little, but continued to have enormous difficulties. However, Senß almost made it 1-0 in the 55th minute when goalkeeper Olivia Clark directed her deflected chip around the post.
Popp as a striker was hardly staged. The Wolfsburg player also received a blow to the head from Sophie Ingle and went into the final phase a little injured. With a win, regardless of the amount, the German selection would have secured victory in the group even without outside help. “It wasn’t our expectation that we played like that today. In the end we also have to thank Iceland,” said Hrubesch after the game.
The interim national coach and his footballers are now hoping for France for the semi-finals, which will be drawn by UEFA on Monday. This constellation would give the DFB women a second chance in the event of a defeat: the French are set for Paris as Olympic hosts. If they reach the final of the final tournament, the third place would also be at the Summer Games. Apart from France, only two other European teams receive an Olympic ticket. The German women missed the games in Tokyo, but won gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.